While diseases such as Ebola and hantavirus often dominate global headlines, measles continues to pose a serious and ongoing public health threat — particularly to young children.
Despite being vaccine-preventable with well-established medical interventions, the World Health Organization estimated that 95,000 people died from measles in 2024, the majority of whom were unvaccinated or under-vaccinated children under the age of five.
Recent outbreaks in Bangladesh and the resurgence of measles across parts of Asia, including Singapore, highlight growing global challenges such as declining vaccination coverage, disruptions to immunisation programmes, and widening immunity gaps among children.
Hear from Hsu Li Yang as he reflects on why certain disease outbreaks receive disproportionate public attention and resources, while persistent threats such as measles receive comparatively less visibility.
Read the commentary here